Just when New York’s cannabis industry was finding its groove, state regulators have thrown a serious wrench into the mix. A total of 89 licensed cannabis dispensaries across the five boroughs, including some of the city’s first and best-known shops, were told this week they may need to pack up and find new homes. The reason? They’re suddenly too close to schools.
Until now, the state Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) had measured the required 500-foot buffer from a shop’s door to a school’s door. But under a recent “oops, our bad” policy correction, they’ll now measure from the dispensary’s entrance to the nearest edge of a school’s property line, meaning dozens of locations that were once fine are now in legal limbo.
The ruling affects 108 businesses across New York State, including 89 in the city and more than 60 that are already open and operating. In Manhattan alone, 40 dispensaries could be forced to relocate, a nearly impossible task in a borough where real estate that meets all zoning requirements (not near a school, church or another dispensary) is nearly mythical…